Nicholas, 15, heads to Japan looking to become one of Britain's only pro Sumo wrestlers

HULL ATHLETE TOOK UP THE SPORT TWO YEARS AGO AND HAS EARNED A SPOT IN ONE OF JAPAN'S PRESTIGIOUS SUMO STABLES

- By SOFIE JACKSON

A 15-year-old boy from Hull has earned the opportunity of a lifetime to become a pro Sumo wrestler after winning scores of Judo medals and learning Japanese.

Nicholas Tarasenko leaves for the Minato Stable in Japan on Thursday, June 19, having finished his GCSEs at Trinity House Academy.

There are 45 stables - or Sumo schools - in Japan and each one can only have one foreigner maximum, which makes Nicholas' achievement all the more remarkable.

He is the first person from Britain to join a Sumo stable since Londoner Nathan John Strange (under the name Hidenokuni Hajime) in 1989.